Who's responsible at Billerica's Iron Horse Park?

Feds weigh question as gas tanks come and go

BILLERICA -- There was activity inside a region of Iron Horse Park on Monday afternoon, as workers methodically transferred liquefied petroleum gas from railway tank wagons and into tanker-trucks destined for parts unknown.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is well aware of the business happening inside the 553-acre industrial yard as the former manufacturing and railway hub that was added in 1984 to the EPA's list of Superfund sites, giving it the dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted plots of land in the nation.

Mary Jane O'Donnell, acting manager of the EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act branch, said the business has been going on for at least the past two weeks.

Moving liquefied petroleum gas, or propane, from rail to truck atop a Superfund site may seem hazardous at first, but whether any shipping companies are treading into murky legal waters is still unclear.

One official who is concerned about the activity is Deputy Fire Chief Tom Ferraro. Ferraro said Wednesday he stumbled upon the shipping operation "by accident" when he spotted a propane truck entering the property.

Ferraro said one of his concerns is the fact that the closest hydrant to the transfer location is roughly 2,000 feet away.

"If something did happen we're concerned about the water supply," he added. "But we're not sure if we have any authority in it right now.

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O'Donnell said EPA and Federal Railroad Administration representatives met with Fire Department officials last Friday to inspect the site.

O'Donnell said the EPA is now evaluating whether this type of activity is regulated under sections of the Clean Air Act. She added that Tulsa, Okla.-based NGL Supply, LLC, is the propane provider.

Yet, O'Donnell and other officials are still determining where, if any, responsibility lies.

The company overseeing transport through the yard, Pan Am Railways, is headquartered at Iron Horse Park.

Pan Am Executive Vice President Cynthia Scarano pointed out that the transfer site was "capped" last summer. The area is known to the EPA as "Operable Unit 3," which contains seven "source areas." These areas required critical attention after contaminated soil, asbestos and recycled oil was discovered following decades of use by the old Boston and Maine Railroad.

As for shipping, Scarano said Pan Am is not responsible for acquiring permits and has nothing to do with which goods are being shipped.

EPA Spokesman Don McElroy said the asphalt section where propane is being transferred is known as "Area of Concern 5," a 50-acre landscape singled out for its contaminated soil.

Active businesses existing inside Superfund sites is not unique to Billerica, however. The Industri-Plex Superfund Site in Woburn was once home to a chemical and glue manufacturing facility that wound up contaminating soil with elevated levels of metals like arsenic and lead.

Today it is home to the James "Jimmy" Anderson Regional Transportation Center.

McElroy pointed out that the asphalt portion was also designed to address stormwater runoff. Storm drains lead to an underground retention system.

O'Donnell said inspections at the site will be ongoing, and added that officials are still trying to determine how the propane transfer operation will be regulated.

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